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ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE 
TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


BOSTON 


‘By 

WILLIAM  AXLING 

For  Twenty  Years  an  American  Resident  in  Japan 
And  an  Observer  of  Things  Japanese 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  JUDSON  PRESS 

CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

SEATTLE  KANSAS  OTY  TORONTO 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 

Published  October,  1921 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword  5 

A New  World  Consciousness 6 

Militarism,  What  About  It? 7 

The  Rising  Tide  of  Liberalism 11 

The  Feeling  Toward  America 15 

Reactions  Toward  California  17 

An  Awakening  Toward  China 21 

The  Korean  Question 23 

A Religious  Renaissance  26 

Christianity’s  Golden  Hour  29 

The  Need  of  an  Enlarged  Christian  Pro- 
gram   32 

The  Christian  Community 38 

The  Challenge 40 


“ We  have  progressed  enough  to  banish  the  harm- 
ful elements  and  preserve  that  which  is  good  in 
national  and  race  organizations.  Nations  have 
reached  their  present  place  through  strife,  but  reason 
and  every  consideration  demands  a better  way. 

Personally  I never  think  merely  as  a Japanese. 
My  uppermost  thought  is  always  the  world’s  good. 
Among  my  nationals  there  are  many  men  of  this 
type. 

There  are  enough  people  in  every  nation  who  have 
this  mind.  We  are  thus  ready  now  to  actually  build 
a World  Brotherhood. 

This  is  no  time  to  think  in  terms  of  self  and  of 
one’s  own  nation  alone.  We  must  think  in  world 
terms  and  plan  for  the  world’s  good. 

For  seventy  years  America  and  Japan  have  stood 
together.  This  unique  relationship  must  not  be 
broken  up  but  made  to  contribute  to  the  consumma- 
tion of  a greater,  a World  Brotherhood.” 

Baron  Y.  Sakatani. 


FOREWORD 


There  was  a time  when  Japan’s  phenomenal  prog- 
ress won  the  world’s  admiration.  Then  came  the  in- 
evitable reaction.  Today  she  is  the  target  at  whom 
critics  everywhere  try  a throw.  Newspapers,  poli- 
ticians, and  lecturers,  through  whom  there  runs  a 
streak  of  yellow,  have  all  united  in  throwing  around 
her  a smoke-screen  of  half-facts  and  falsehoods  with 
the  result  that  whole  areas  of  significant  facts  are 
hidden  from  the  world’s  view.  Moreover,  Japan,  in 
blazing  a pathway  out  into  her  new  destiny,  has, 
like  every  other  nation,  made  mistakes.  Out  of  it 
all  there  has  been  created  in  the  minds  of  many  a 
great  question-mark  concerning  this  Empire  of  the 
East. 

The  great  need  today  is  that  the  truth  regarding 
this  nation  be  known.  Certain  facts  concerning  her 
stand  out  big  on  the  surface.  Others,  even  more 
important,  lie  buried  deep  down  in  the  nation’s  inner 
life.  Across  her  there  sweep  cross-currents  and  un- 
dercurrents. All  these  must  be  known  if  she  is  to 
be  intelligently  understood.  An  intelligent  under- 
standing will  create  sympathy,  sympathy  will  restore 
confidence,  and  confidence  will  cement  anew  with 
her  the  bond  of  brotherhood. 

This  little  brochure  is  given  to  the  public  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  be  of  some  service  in  interpreting 

[5] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


this  Oriental  nation  to  the  Occidental  mind.  Twenty 
years  of  residence  in  Japan,  intimate  contacts  with 
the  Japanese  people,  first-hand  investigations,  and 
heart-to-heart  conversations  with  many  of  her  na- 
tional leaders  constitute  the  writer’s  excuse  for  ven- 
turing to  act  as  an  informant. 

A NEW  WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS 

In  1852,  when  an  American  fleet  commanded  by 
Commodore  Perry  forced  Japan  out  into  the  world- 
arena,  she  was  a hermit  nation  hidden  away  among 
the  waters  of  the  Pacific.  Her  eyes  were  on  the 
past.  She  clung  to  an  age-long  isolation.  But 
America’s  strong  hand  pushed  her  out  into  a destiny 
of  which  she  had  not  dreamed.  Today  she  has  won 
her  place  in  the  sun.  She  stands  as  one  of  the  five 
great  world  powers.  Having  attained  this  high 
place,  she  earnestly  aspires  to  do  her  share  of  the 
world’s  work  and  to  carry  her  share  of  the  world’s 
burdens.  She  is  anxious  that  not  color  nor  geo- 
graphical position,  but  brains,  ability,  and  real  worth 
shall  be  the  determining  factors  in  assigning  to  the 
nations  the  reconstruction  work  of  our  time. 

The  Occident,  unaccustomed  to  an  Oriental  nation 
thinking  in  terms  of  this  kind  and  entertaining  such 
ambitions,  looks  upon  this  stripling  among  the 
powers  with  bewilderment  and  suspicion.  “ A second 
Germany!  ” “ The  Hun  of  the  East!  ” “ A world 
menace ! ” These  are  some  of  the  epithets  which 

[6] 


MILITARISM,  WHAT  ABOUT  IT? 


surface  observers  are  hurling  at  her.  The  careful 
student,  however,  finds  here  not  a nation  with  am- 
bitions for  world  conquest  but  a nation  with  a new 
world  consciousness ; a nation  sincerely  desiring  to 
make  a world  contribution;  a nation  keen  to  play 
a worthy  part  in  the  new  world  into  which  destiny 
has  thrown  her. 

MILITARISM,  WHAT  ABOUT  IT? 

No  one  can  deny  the  fact  that  Japan  has  a strong 
military  party  and  that  it  has  great  power.  There 
are  reactionaries  who  yearn  to  turn  back  the  clock 
of  progress.  She  has  ultranationalists  who  forget 
that  there  is  a great  outlying  world  with  which 
Japan  must  live  and  labor.  These  are  the  surface 
facts.  More  significant  facts,  however,  lie  beneath 
the  surface. 

Seated  in  the  room  where  Japan’s  national  and 
world  policies  are  determined  Premier  K.  Hara  said 
to  me ; 

History  is  full  of  war.  Back  of  every  nation  lies  a long 
series  of  bloody  conflicts.  Japan  is  no  exception.  Her  wars 
with  China  and  Russia  make  her  look  militaristic.  But 
history  shows  clearly  why  and  how  she  fought  It  shows 
that  she  was  neither  aggressive  in  her  motive  nor  cruel  in 
her  method.  Japanese  nature,  disposition,  and  moral  ideals 
furnish  no  material  out  of  which  to  create  a second  Ger- 
many. And  the  day  is  past  in  Japan  when  the  military  party 
or  any  group  of  men  can  get  together,  concoct  a scheme,  and 
put  it  across  without  consulting  the  people.  The  people 

[7] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


are  coming  to  their  own.  Their  power  is  growing.  Public 
opinion  is  becoming  a potent  force  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 
This  means  peace,  for  the  people  are  demanding  peace. 
The  present  cabinet  stands  positively  for  peace. 

The  Home  Minister,  Mr.  T.  Tokunami,  in  speak- 
ing of  this  matter,  said : 

Japan  has  had  to  fight  to  keep  her  place  as  a nation,  and 
so  to  outsiders  she  may  look  ambitious.  She  fought  China 
and  Russia  because  her  national  existence  was  at  stake. 
She  entered  Korea  in  order  to  safeguard  her  future  as  a 
nation.  She  joined  the  Allies  in  sending  an  expedition  into 
Siberia  because  Bolshevism  threatened  to  sweep  across  the 
Siberian  borders.  To  him  who  fails  to  consider  the  causes 
of  these  wars  Japan  may  look  militaristic.  Japan  must  pro- 
tect herself.  Attack  others  she  never  will.  Germany’s  ideals 
are  not  Japan’s.  Every  move  the  present  cabinet  has  made 
is  ample  proof  of  its  passion  for  peace. 

Baron  Y.  Sakatani,  Member  of  the  House  of 
Peers,  president  of  the  Japan  Peace  Society,  and 
foremost  leader  of  the  peace  movement  in  the  em- 
pire, said  to  me: 

We  do  not  deny  that  Japan  has  a military  party.  She 
has  fire-eaters  who  indulge  in  wild  talk.  But  the  govern- 
ment today  is  not  listening  to  these  men.  It  is  listening 
to  the  men  of  peace.  German  militarism  in  Japan  has  re- 
ceived its  death-blow  and  is  vanishing  from  the  land.  The 
old  military  men  who  were  trained  in  Germany  are  passing 
away,  and  younger  men  with  a new  world  outlook  are  tak- 
ing their  places.  Many  of  the  old  officials  are  now  down 
among  the  people,  and  the  people’s  yearning  for  peace  is 
recasting  their  ideas  and  ideals. 

[8] 


MILITARISM,  WHAT  ABOUT  IT? 


Let  Americans  ponder  the  words  of  this  champion 
of  peace,  this  lover  of  America  when  he  says : 

There  can  be  no  doubting  the  fact  that  many  of  Japan’s 
military  and  political  leaders  sincerely  believe  that  America 
is  planning  to  put  something  across  on  Japan.  They  believe 
that  American  money  is  stirring  up  anti-Japanese  feeling  in 
China,  that  American  influence  is  behind  the  independence 
movement  in  Korea,  and  that  America  has  thrown  herself 
across  Japan’s  path  of  progress  in  Siberia.  They  point  to 
the  big  navy  which  America  is  building,  to  the  transfer  of 
the  fleet  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  to  the  feverish 
military  preparations  in  Panama,  to  the  monstrous  military 
dock  which  America  is  building  at  Honolulu,  to  the  urgent 
campaign  for  enlisting  men  for  her  army  and  her  navy, 
and  they  ask  who  the  potential  enemy  can  be.  It  certainly 
is  not  England  or  France.  Germany  is  out  of  the  race.  By 
a process  of  elimination  it  must  be  Japan.  This  being  the 
case,  they  say,  can  Japan  sit  with  folded  hands  and  fail  to 
prepare  for  an  emergency? 

Mr.  S.  Shimada,  Member  of  Parliament,  ex- 
Speaker  of  that  body  and  for  twoscore  years  the 
leader  of  the  peace  wing  in  Parliament,  told  me  that 
the  peace  party  in  that  legislative  body  in  its  fight 
against  the  increased  army  and  naval  budgets  went 
down  to  defeat  again  and  again  because  its  oppo- 
nents played  up  America’s  military  preparation.  An 
ardent  friend  of  America — so  much  so  that  he  sends 
his  sons  to  America  for  their  education — he  said 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  “ American  military  prepara- 
tion is  the  fuel  that  feeds  the  fires  of  militarism  in 
Japan.” 


[9] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


More  and  more  the  heart  of  the  young  manhood 
of  Japan  is  coming  into  tune  with  the  world’s  yearn- 
ing for  peace.  Up  until  the  World  War  there  were 
one  hundred  per  cent,  more  young  men  applying  for 
entrance  into  the  Army  and  Navy  Colleges  than 
could  be  entered.  In  1920  there  was  a shortage  of 
thirty  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  men  that  they 
needed  to  enter  these  two  institutions  in  order  to 
officer  properly  their  army  and  navy. 

Not  only  has  there  been  a drop  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  applicants  but 
the  type  of  men  who  apply  for  entrance  has  greatly 
deteriorated.  Formerly  the  applicants  constituted 
the  cream  of  Japan’s  young  manhood.  Today  they 
come  from  those  who  have  to  take  second  and  even 
third  place  in  the  line-up  of  the  nation’s  youth. 

The  ideals  of  peace  are  also  filtering  down  into 
the  great  common  life  of  the  nation.  The  people  as 
a people  are  turning  against  the  program  of  the 
militarists  and  are  asking  for  a positive  peace  pro- 
gram for  Japan.  They  are  groaning  under  the  taxa- 
tion which  the  present  armament  program  imposes 
upon  them. 

At  the  time  that  six  hundred  of  Japan’s  sons  were 
massacred  in  Siberia  one  of  her  military  men 
launched  a campaign  to  raise  $80,000  with  which  to 
build  a monument  to  their  memory.  Appeal  was 
made  from  the  platform  and  through  the  press. 
After  a six-months’  campaign  only  $5,000  had  been 
secured.  Why?  The  people  said  that  they  had 

[10] 


THE  RISING  TIDE  OF  LIBERALISM 


nothing  but  deepest  sympathy  for  these  men  and 
for  their  families.  But  they  died  as  martyrs  to  the 
ideals  of  militarism,  and  to  build  a monument  to 
their  memory  would  simply  perpetuate  these  ideals. 
It  would  also  perpetuate  hatred  toward  a neigh- 
boring nation  with  whom  Japan  ought  to  live  in 
peace. 

In  speaking  of  Japan’s  experience  in  Korea,  Baron 
Sakatani  made  the  significant  statement  that 

Japan  has  learned  a great  lesson  in  Korea.  She  has 
learned  that  this  is  no  age  in  which  a strong  nation  can 
with  impunity  set  out  to  subdue  a weaker  nation  by  force. 
And  if  she  can  find  a solution  for  that  situation  in  Korea, 
one  that  will  leave  her  name  and  her  honor  unsullied,  she 
will  never  want  to  try  another  experiment  of  that  kind. 

These  are  some  of  the  signs  of  the  times.  They 
indicate  which  way  the  tides  are  running. 

THE  RISING  TIDE  OF  LIBERALISM 

There  is  a great  liberal  movement  sweeping  across 
Japan.  Its  leaders  are  such  outstanding  national 
figures  as  Marquis  S.  Okuma,  twice  Premier, 
Japan’s  Grand  Old  Man,  and  for  half  a century 
one  of  the  most  influential  characters  in  the  nation’s 
life ; Baron  Y.  Sakatani,  ex-Minister  of  Finance  and 
an  influential  member  of  the  House  of  Peers;  Mr. 
Y.  Ozaki,  ex-Minister  of  Justice  and  a conspicuous 
Member  of  Parliament ; Viscount  K.  Kaneko,  a 
Member  of  the  Privy  Council  of  the  Empire;  Vis- 

[11] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


count  E.  Shibuzawa,  Japan’s  most  influential  captain 
of  industry ; Mr.  S.  Ebara,  Member  of  the  House  of 
Peers ; Mr.  S.  Shimada,  Member  of  Parliament  and 
an  ex-Speaker  of  that  body;  Doctor  Ukita,  Editor 
of  Taiyo,  Japan’s  leading  monthly;  Professors  M. 
Anezaki  and  S.  Yoshino,  of  the  Imperial  Univer- 
sity, and  a host  of  other  men  of  this  type  and 
standing. 

This  movement  stands  for  peace  as  against  war 
and  for  internationalism  as  against  ultranationalism. 
These  ideals  it  is  spreading  both  among  the  govern- 
ment officials  and  among  the  people.  It  is  shaking 
the  nation  loose  from  the  old  nationalistic  outlook 
and  substituting  the  world-point  of  view  in  consid- 
ering the  great  questions  of  the  day.  It  is  creating 
a world-mind  among  the  Japanese  people.  This 
movement  is  daily  gathering  momentum  and  is  car- 
rying  great  sections  of  the  nation  before  it.  Al- 
though still  unorganized  and  not  crystallized  into 
a party,  it  is  a mighty  factor  in  the  thought  life  and 
the  political  life  of  the  nation. 

Professor  Yoshino,  of  the  Imperial  University, 
Japan’s  most  outstanding  champion  of  democracy, 
in  tracing  the  rise  and  growth  of  this  liberal  move- 
ment, said: 

Way  back  in  1876,  when  Emperor  Meiji  instructed  Prince 
Arisugawa  to  make  investigations  preparatory  to  making  a 
constitution,  he  handed  him  a copy  of  Todd’s  “ Parliamen- 
tary Government  in  England,”  saying,  “ Make  this  your 
model.”  During  the  Russian- Japanese  War  Japan’s  mili- 

[12] 


THE  RISING  TIDE  OF  LIBERALISM 


tarists  and  her  business  men  gained  great  influence,  but  the 
rise  of  the  democratic  movement  also  dates  from  that 
time.  Since  then  the  reactionaries  have  fought  it,  but  to 
no  avail. 

The  schools  of  the  Empire  have  backed  up  this  awaken- 
ing. The  Japanese  scholars  who  were  in  England  during 
the  Hague  Peace  Congress  and  during  the  reign  of  King 
Edward  VII,  were  greatly  influenced  by  the  ideals  of  peace 
and  liberalism  which  then  prevailed  in  Europe.  They  re- 
turned to  their  native  land,  and  through  Japan’s  educational 
institutions  laid  the  foundations  for  our  nation’s  new  de- 
mocracy. Since  that  time  our  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing have  been  the  forums  from  which  the  principles  of 
peace  have  been  promulgated. 

Today  eighty  per  cent  of  Japan’s  institutions  of  higher 
learning  are  lined  up  on  the  side  of  democracy’s  ideals  of 
peace  and  liberalism.  Practically  all  of  the  younger  pro- 
fessors in  these  institutions  are  lined  up  in  the  same  way. 

From  of  old  the  Elder  Statesmen  have  constituted  the  one 
and  only  center  of  power  in  the  Empire.  Today  another 
center  of  power  is  being  created.  It  is  the  people.  Because 
of  the  existence  of  these  two  centers  of  power  it  is  im- 
possible for  Japan  today  to  have  either  an  absolute  bureau- 
cratic Cabinet  or  an  absolute  people’s  Cabinet.  She  must 
have  a premier  who  can  serve  both  elements.  But  this  is  a 
passing  stage.  The  bureaucratic  center  is  gradually  losing 
power.  The  people’s  power  is  on  the  gain. 

These  two  centers  are  drifting  further  and  further  apart, 
with  the  power  of  the  people  daily  gaining  in  momentum. 
The  bureaucrats,  seeing  their  power  ebb  and  the  people’s 
power  grow,  are  feverishly  trying  to  stem  the  tide.  The 
press  is  muzzled.  Free  speech  is  denied.  Scholars  are 
imprisoned  for  promulgating  “ dangerous  thoughts.”  But 
the  rising  tide  of  popular  power  moves  on  and  simply 
sweeps  them  aside.  The  people’s  day  has  dawned. 

[13] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


Among  the  young  men  of  Japan  there  is  an  ever- 
increasing  passion  for  the  principles  of  this  move- 
ment. Japan  has  a student  body  of  600,000  men. 
They  are  her  future  leaders.  They  are  the  men  who 
in  the  coming  days  are  going  to  step  out  into  places 
of  power.  And  ninety  in  a hundred  of  them  are 
passionately  lined  up  behind  the  progress  for  peace 
and  a larger  internationalism. 

Gradually  the  ideals  of  this  movement  are  grip- 
ping the  common  people.  Not  long  ago  the  leader 
of  the  ultranationalists  was  announced  to  speak  in 
the  great  industrial  city  of  Osaka.  He  is  a scholar 
of  great  repute.  He  spoke,  however,  to  only  two 
hundred  men  in  a hall  that  will  seat  five  thousand. 
Two  weeks  later  Professor  Yoshino  and  his  col- 
league in  the  work  of  making  democracy’s  ideas 
and  ideals  known  to  the  people,  spoke  in  the  same 
hall  to  an  audience  that  packed  it  from  top  to 
bottom.  These  were  not  students.  They  were  the 
men  from  the  shops  and  factories  of  this  Chicago  of 
the  Orient. 

Something  over  a year  ago  the  monthly  magazine 
called  The  Central  Review  came  under  the  editor- 
ship of  one  of  Japan’s  most  prominent  liberals  and 
espoused  the  liberal  program.  Within  an  incredibly 
short  time  its  subscribers  jumped  in  number  from 
five  to  fifty  thousand. 

Thus  within  the  nation’s  inner  life  there  are 
mighty  influences  at  work  that  are  corrective  and 
constructive  in  their  character. 


[14] 


THE  FEELING  TOWARD  AMERICA 


THE  FEELING  TOWARD  AMERICA 

How  does  Japan  feel  toward  the  nation  that  more 
than  any  other  is  responsible  for  her  present  position 
among  the  nations?  Let  her  statesmen  and  her 
leaders  speak.  The  last  piece  of  anti- Japanese  legis- 
lation had  been  passed  in  California.  And  whatever 
may  be  said  pro  and  con  in  regard  to  that  legisla- 
tion it  certainly  is  the  acid  test  of  Japanese  friend- 
ship toward  America.  In  that  psychological  hour  I 
sounded  the  Japanese  heart  in  order  to  ascertain  its 
hidden  reaction.  In  reply  to  a leading  question  on 
this  subject  Premier  Kara  said : 

America  was  Japan’s  first  friend.  America  has  been 
Japan’s  longest  friend.  America  has  been  Japan’s  strongest 
friend.  And  it  is  imthinkable  to  me  that  this  friendship, 
which  is  xmique  and  without  parallel  in  the  fellowship  of 
nations,  is  going  to  be  broken.  Strains  may  come  and 
misunderstandings  may  arise  between  these  two  nations,  but 
that  the  time  should  ever  come  when  they  shall  be  unable 
to  find  solution  for  their  problems  and  shall  rush  at  each 
other’s  throats  in  war,  this,  to  my  mind,  is  imthinkable,  ab- 
solutely unthinkable.  As  for  the  people,  you  have  lived 
among  us  for  twenty  years  and  you  know  that  they  stand 
for  peace.  You  also  know  that  for  seventy  years  the 
Japanese  people  have  thought  of  America  with  a peculiar 
feeling  of  friendship  in  their  hearts,  and  you  know  that 
in  the  main  that  feeling  continues. 

In  reply  to  a similar  question  Mr.  Tokunami,  the 
Home  Minister,  said: 


[15] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


I have  studied  American  history.  I have  visited  America. 
I number  Americans  among  my  friends,  and  I am  con- 
vinced that  America’s  high  ideals,  her  fine  sense  of  justice, 
her  desire  to  do  the  gracious  thing,  the  unselfish  thing,  these 
ideals  will  reassert  themselves  whenever  any  crisis  appears 
upon  the  horizon.  Because  I have  these  convictions  I still 
believe  in  America. 

Heart-to-heart  conversations  with  such  national 
leaders  as  those  already  mentioned— Baron  Saka- 
tani,  Viscount  Shibuzawa,  Mr.  Shimada,  Mr.  Ebara, 
Professor  Yoshino,  and  others — brought  out  the 
same  story.  They  all  sounded  a note  of  sorrow  over 
the  present  disturbed  relations  and  a note  of  un- 
changed friendship. 

As  regards  the  people,  they  that  constitute  the 
great  throbbing  heart  of  Japan,  let  me  bear  my 
own  personal  testimony.  For  half  a century  and 
more  America  was  their  one  ideal  as  a nation.  To 
her  they  looked  for  leadership  and  inspiration  in 
their  climb  toward  national  greatness.  Things  have 
happened  during  the  last  ten  years  that  have  dis- 
turbed their  childlike  faith  in  America.  But  the 
fires  of  true  friendship  still  bum  in  their  hearts. 

When  it  comes  to  the  great  bulk  of  the  people 
and  their  feeling  toward  America  the  Japanese  heart 
rings  true,  absolutely  true.  Their  deepest  yearning 
is  that  America  and  Japan  shall  stand,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  Pacific,  and  look  into  each  other’s  faces 
not  with  suspicion  in  their  eyes  and  hatred  in  their 
hearts,  but  with  a brotherly  confidence  in  their  eyes 

[16] 


REACTIONS  TOWARD  CALIFORNIA 


and  genuine  love  in  their  hearts.  They  yearn  that 
these  two  nations  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  and  shall  clasp 
hands  across  the  Pacific  in  undying  friendship. 

Japan  also  has  newspapers  and  politicians  and 
commercial  men  who  are  streaked  with  yellow.  For 
their  own  purposes  they  strive  to  stir  up  anti-Amer- 
ican feeling.  Moreover,  it  is  their  shouting  that  is 
heard  across  the  Pacific.  But  the  masses  of  the 
people  still  cling  to  their  first  love  and  eagerly  wel- 
come every  sign  of  the  return  of  these  two  nations 
to  their  old  historic  heart-friendship. 


REACTIONS  TOWARD  CALIFORNIA 

Japan  is  human.  Anti-Japanese  agitations  in  Cali- 
fornia cut  deep  into  her  feelings.  But  she  is  calmly 
waiting  for  the  coming  of  a saner  day.  Meanwhile 
both  the  government  and  the  people  are  trying  to 
meet  the  situation  created  by  the  presence  of  their 
nationals  in  that  State. 

Agitators  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  the 
Japanese  Government  is  rigidly  living  up  to  the 
terms  of  the  “ Gentlemen’s  Agreement.”  It  is  issu- 
ing no  travel  passports  to  America  to  laborers  nor  to 
those  who  after  reaching  America  might  turn  labor- 
ers. The  passport  bureau  is  as  tight  as  a barrel. 
Again  and  again  I have  besieged  it  in  behalf  of 
Japanese  friends  who  had  succumbed  to  the  Amer- 
ican fever.  In  vain  have  I argued  and  pled.  The 
officials  were  immovable. 

[17] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


Agitators  in  California  have  juggled  with  statis- 
tics and  attempted  to  make  them  prove  that  the 
Japanese  Government  is  violating  the  “ Gentlemen’s 
Agreement.”  The  plain  un juggled  statistics  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  General  of  Immigra- 
tion however  give  ample  proof  that  Japan  is  keep- 
ing her  pledge. 

The  Commissioner’s  reports  show  that  during  the 
twelve  years  from  1909  to  1920  92,606  Japanese  were 
admitted  into  Continental  United  States.  Of  these, 
however,  40,654  were  former  residents,  Japanese, 
who  having  made  a visit  to  their  native  land,  re- 
turned to  America  by  right  of  former  residence  here. 
Moreover,  28,115  of  those  admitted  during  this 
period  were  wives,  and  11,905  were  children  of 
Japanese  males  already  living  in  America.  During 
these  twelve  years  Japanese  departures  from  Conti- 
nental United  States  numbered  80,432.  This  leaves 
a net  increase  in  twelve  years  of  12,174.  But  when 
it  is  remembered  that  there  is  a constant  stream  of 
students  and  travelers  coming  from  Japan  to  Amer- 
ica for  study  and  for  travel,  this  number  is  easily  ac- 
counted for.  In  this  statistical  display,  where  does 
the  Japanese  laborer  come  in?  He  simply  does  not 
come  in,  because  the  Japanese  Government  is  not 
issuing  passports  to  him  to  come  on. 

These  are  the  cold  statistical  facts  which  those 
must  face  who  accuse  Japan  of  playing  loose  when 
it  comes  to  the  question  of  restricting  immigration 
to  America. 


[18] 


REACTIONS  TOWARD  CALIFORNIA 


Premier  Kara  in  speaking  of  the  California  ques- 
tion said : 

We  know  that  the  anti-Japanese  movement  in  California 
is  not  an  American  movement.  Even  in  that  State  it  has 
strong  opponents.  Yet  when  we  found  that  Japanese  im- 
migration was  not  welcomed  there,  we  stopped  it. 

Mr.  Tokunami,  the  Home  Minister,  in  discussing 
this  question  with  me,  said:  ' 

We  have  no  doubt  regarding  America  as  a whole.  We  are 
convinced  that  California  does  not  represent  America  in 
this  matter.  Not  for  a moment  do  we  believe  that  this 
question  will  ever  lead  to  a rupture  of  relations  or  to  war 
between  these  two  nations.  But  somehow  this  question  must 
be  solved  if  we  wish  to  avoid  periodical  disturbance  of 
relations  between  the  nations  concerned. 

Baron  Sakatani  speaking  of  this  matter  said : 

The  California  question  must  be  settled  along  the  lines 
of  reason.  We  cannot  get  anywhere  until  this  question  is 
solved.  With  its  solution  all  other  questions  will  auto- 
matically solve  themselves. 

Viscount  Shibuzawa,  who  has  been  working  on 
this  problem  for  the  past  twelve  years,  said: 

America  ought  to  know  that  the  California  question  is 
with  us  no  longer,  a question  of  immigration.  We  are  not 
asking  for  the  unlimited  entrance  of  our  laborers  into  any 
part  of  America.  We  recognize  that  it  would  not  be  wise. 
It  will  only  create  friction  and  stir  up  problems.  All  we 
ask  is  that  those  of  our  people  who  have  been  allowed  to 
enter  any  part  of  America  be  given  the  rights  and  privileges 

[19] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


guaranteed  them  under  the  American- Japanese  treaty  at  the 
time  of  their  entrance.  On  our  part  we  will  do  all  within 
our  power  to  Americanize  them  and  make  them  desirable 
residents  on  American  soil. 

Could  any  one  take  a more  sober  attitude  or  make 
a more  reasonable  request? 

Here  is  the  section  of  the  American-Japanese 
treaty  that  defines  the  rights  and  privileges  guar- 
anteed to  immigrants  from  Japan  to  America : 

Akticle  I.  The  subjects  or  citizens  of  each  of  the  high 
contracting  parties  shall  have  liberty  to  enter,  travel,  and 
reside  in  the  territories  of  the  other,  to  carry  on  trade, 
wholesale  and  retail,  to  own  or  lease  and  occupy  houses, 
manufactories,  warehouses,  and  shops,  to  employ  agents  of 
their  choice,  to  lease  land  for  residential  and  commercial 
purposes,  and  generally  to  do  anjrthing  incident  to  or  neces- 
sary for  trade,  upon  the  same  terms  as  native  subjects  or 
citizens,  submitting  themselves  to  the  laws  and  regulations 
there  established. 

They  shall  not  be  compelled,  under  any  pretext  whatever, 
to  pay  any  charges  or  taxes  other  or  higher  tlian  those  that 
are  or  may  be  paid  by  native  subjects  or  citizens. 

The  subjects  or  citizens  of  each  of  the  high  contracting 
parties  shall  receive,  in  the  territories  of  the  other,  the  most 
constant  protection  and  security  for  their  persons  and 
property  and  shall  enjoy  in  this  respect  the  same  rights  and 
privileges  as  are  or  may  be  granted  to  native  subjects  or 
citizens,  on  their  submitting  themselves  to  the  conditions 
imposed  upon  the  native  subjects  and  citizens. 

Could  any  language  be  plainer?  Here  in  black 
and  white  under  the  seal  of  the  American  govern- 
ment they  are  guaranteed  the  same  rights  and  privi- 

[20] 


^iV  AWAKENim  TOWARD  CHINA 


leges  granted  the  aliens  from  any  other  land.  In 
the  face  of  these  guaranteed  treaty-rights  the  Japa- 
nese living  in  California  are  deprived  of  the  privilege 
of  owning  and  of  renting  land  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. The  Japanese  father  is  even  deprived  of  the 
right  to  act  as  a guardian  for  his  own  children  in 
these  matters.  Is  ours  the  “ scrap-of-paper  ” policy, 
or  do  we  make  treaties  to  keep  them? 

In  this  connection,  when  we  remember  that  the 
Japanese  constitute  only  two  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation in  California,  that  they  own  only  six-tenths  of 
one  per  cent,  of  her  farm  land,  and  that  more  white 
children  were  born  there  during  the  one  year  1920 
than  were  born  to  the  Japanese  living  there  during 
the  ten  years  from  1910  to  1920,  it  would  seem  that 
we  could  at  least  afford  to  be  just  and  live  up  to 
our  treaty  agreements. 

AN  AWAKENING  TOWARD  CHINA 

Japan’s  past  policy  in  China  has,  in  common  with 
all  European  nations,  been  the  grab-all-you-can 
policy.  But  today  saner  statesmen  are  at  the  helm. 
These  acknowledge  that  in  the  past  Japan  has  made 
grievous  mistakes  in  her  policies  toward  that  nation. 
No  thoughtful  Japanese  today  defends  the  notorious 
“ twenty-one  demands  ” on  China. 

Premier  Kara  here  again  showed  an  up-to-date 
grasp  on  the  situation.  He  said : 

Japan  must  live  on  good  terms  with  China.  So  closely 
interwoven  are  the  relations  between  these  two  nations  that 

[21] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


when  anything  happens  in  China  Japan  is  the  first  to  feel  it. 
From  of  old  China  has  played  one  nation  off  against  an- 
other. This  is  still  her  game.  We  are  determined,  how- 
ever, to  do  the  right  thing  by  her. 

We  have  no  intention  of  settling  down  in  Shantimg.  No 
one  is  more  anxious  than  we  are  to  clear  up  that  situation. 
So  great  are  the  complications,  however,  that  it  can  only  be 
done  by  direct  negotiations  between  the  nations  immediately 
concerned. 

The  Home  Minister,  Mr.  Tokunami,  was  even 
more  emphatic  as  to  Japan’s  responsibility  to  deal 
fairly  with  her  neighbor.  Here  are  his  words: 

Geographically,  historically,  through  their  commerce  and 
through  their  literature  Japan  and  China  are  so  inter- 
related that  they  are  tied  up  in  one  btmdle.  The  interests 
of  the  one  are  absolutely  the  interests  of  the  other.  From 
a purely  selfish  point  of  view  Japan  must  seek  China’s  wel- 
fare. Japan  is  dependent  on  China  for  her  iron,  her  coal, 
and  for  a large  per  cent  of  her  food  supply.  Thus  China’s 
prosperity  spells  prosperity  for  Japan.  At  the  same  time 
we  have  no  desire  to  prevent  other  nations  from  getting 
their  share  in  China’s  prosperity.  Certainly  there  is  no 
reason  why  American  and  Japanese  interests  should  collide 
there.  There  is  abundant  room  for  all. 

As  regards  the  Shantimg  question,  it  has  been  my  con- 
tention all  along  that  it  will  be  all  loss  and  no  gain  for 
Japan  to  get  a foothold  in  China  down  in  Shantung  and 
thus  increase  her  territory  and  her  wealth  but  at  the  same 
time  turn  her  nearest  neighbor  into  an  eternal  enemy. 

Emphatically  the  policy  of  the  present  Cabinet  is  to  do 
all  that  it  can  to  further  the  welfare  of  China.  In  fact 
the  integrity,  independence,  and  progress  of  China  is  today 
Japan’s  most  pressing  problem. 

[22] 


THE  KOREAN  QUESTION 


That  the  Premier  and  his  Home  Minister  are  not 
indulging  in  mere  words  but  are  backing  them  up 
with  constructive  action,  is  shown  by  the  Hara 
Cabinet’s  putting  an  embargo  on  the  sale  of  muni- 
tions to  either  wing  in  China  on  the  part  of  the 
Japanese  government.  It  is  also  shown  by  the 
Cabinet’s  putting  an  embargo  on  the  making  of 
political  loans  to  the  contending  factions  in  China. 
Under  the  Cabinet’s  lead  Japan  has  gone  into  the 
recently  established  Consortium,  through  which  all 
political  loans  are  made  to  China  by  America,  En- 
gland, France,  and  Japan  acting  as  a unit. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  bureaucratic 
Cabinet  that  preceded  the  present  one  not  only  sold 
munitions  and  made  political  loans  to  China  but  en- 
gineered matters  so  that  they  got  into  the  hands  of 
the  reactionary  wing  and  strengthened  them  in  their 
fight  against  the  progressives,  the  real  significance 
and  corrective  character  of  the  action  of  the  Hara 
Cabinet  becomes  apparent.  It  is  reversing  from  the 
bottom  up  some  of  Japan’s  past  policies  toward  her 
neighbor  across  the  Yellow  Sea. 

Baron  Sakatani  brought  in  the  altruistic  motive  in 
presenting  his  point  of  view : “ Until  China  can 
stand  alone  America  and  Japan  must  work  together 
for  her  highest  good.” 

THE  KOREAN  QUESTION 

No  liberty-loving  American  can  fail  to  sym- 
pathize with  a nation  that  has  lost  its  independence. 

[23] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


Yet  the  open-minded  student  must  admit  that  what 
has  happened  in  Korea  is  only  the  logical  trend  of 
events.  Centuries  of  intrigue,  an  inefficient  and  cor- 
rupt government,  an  oppressed  people,  a land  with- 
out progress,  these  are  some  of  the  things  that  loom 
large  in  Korean  history. 

Twice  has  Japan’s  national  existence  been  seri- 
ously threatened  by  way  of  Korea.  In  the  first 
instance  by  China  intriguing  with  Korea,  which 
brought  on  the  China-Japan  War.  Again  by  Rus- 
sian intrigue  with  Korea  which  was  the  cause  of 
the  Russian-Japanese  War. 

Any  nation  gaining  a foothold  on  the  Korean 
peninsula  is  in  a position  to  drive  a death-thrust 
into  Japan’s  heart.  Japan’s  national  safety  de- 
manded that  something  be  done  in  Korea.  Minister 
Tokunami  went  to  the  root  of  the  matter  when  he 
summed  up  the  situation  by  saying,  “ There  could 
be  no  peace  in  the  Orient  as  long  as  Korea  was  the 
willing  tool  of  scheming  nations.” 

Few  who  know  the  facts  can  quarrel  with  what 
was  done,  though  they  may  regret  exceedingly  that 
it  had  to  be  done.  No  man,  however,  who  has  a 
spark  of  humanity  in  him  can  for  a moment  justify 
the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  done.  The  atrocities 
committed  by  Japan’s  military  men  in  Korea  in  1919 
and  those  committed  across  the  Manchurian  border 
in  November  of  1920  constitute  a black  blot  on 
Japan’s  fair  escutcheon  that  she  will  never  be  able  to 
remove.  Her  strongest  friends  cannot  condone 


THE  KOREAN  QUESTION 


them.  They  are  the  darkest  chapter  of  her  long 
and  otherwise  glorious  history. 

It  should  be  known,  however,  that  there  are  multi- 
tudes of  Japanese  who  bow  their  heads  in  shame  and 
sorrow  over  what  their  military  men  did  in  Korea. 
I saw  Japanese  listen  to  the  reports  that  came  from 
Korea  with  the  tears  running  down  their  faces. 
Others  came  to  my  home  and  made  abject  apologies 
for  the  treatment  the  Koreans  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  their  nationals.  Better  still,  I saw  Japanese 
Christian  pastors,  like  the  heroes  of  old,  take  their 
lives  in  their  hands  and  appeal  to  the  people  in  pro- 
test. Such  was  the  volume  of  protest  that  arose  that 
the  Governor  General,  under  whose  regime  those 
awful  atrocities  were  committed,  had  to  retire. 

As  his  successor,  Baron  Saito,  a large-hearted, 
tender-hearted,  fatherly  man,  was  sent  to  Korea. 
He  went  there  with  the  passion  and  the  purpose  of 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  give  the  Korean  people  a 
square  deal.  In  the  face  of  tremendous  difficulties 
he  has  been  inaugurating  far-reaching  reforms. 

He  has  removed  the  restrictions  on  the  press. 
He  has  abolished  the  gendarmes  and  substituted  the 
civilian  police.  The  Korean  children  have  been 
given  the  same  privilege  in  the  schools  that  the 
Japanese  children  enjoy.  The  use  of  the  Korean 
language  has  been  restored.  An  Advisory  Council 
made  up  of  Koreans  has  been  set  up.  Much  remains 
yet  to  be  done.  Yet  no  one  can  deny  that  Baron 
Saito  is  making  an  earnest  effort  to  right  past 

[25] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


wrongs  and  to  remove  the  oppressive  mailed  fist 
from  Korea. 

Above  all,  let  us  not  indict  a whole  nation  be- 
cause of  the  sins  and  mistakes  of  a section  of  its 
people.  Militarism  is  damnable  whether  it  raises  its 
head  under  Japan  and  commits  atrocities  in  Korea, 
or  under  England  and  massacres  villages  in  India, 
or  under  America  and  commits  outrages  in  Haiti. 

A RELIGIOUS  RENAISSANCE 

Japan  is  in  the  midst  of  a far-reaching  religious 
awakening.  Seventy  years  ago  when  she  was  forced 
out  into  the  world  life,  she  found  herself  centuries 
behind  the  nations  of  the  West,  in  education,  in 
politics,  in  commerce,  in  industry,  in  armaments,  in 
everything  that  bulked  large  in  the  Western  world 
at  that  time.  She  determined  that  she  would  retrieve 
the  past  and  catch  up  with  the  West  along  these 
lines.  Into  this  task  the  nation  as  a nation  for  half 
a century  poured  its  best  brain,  its  keenest  thinking, 
its  last  ounce  of  energy,  its  very  life.  The  material- 
istic civilization  of  the  Occident  that  was  so  fair  a 
flower  in  Japan’s  eyes  has  been  transplanted  to  her 
own  soil  and  caused  to  blossom  there.  She  has 
reached  the  goal  which  she  set.  But  she  almost 
lost  her  soul.  Japan  forgot  that  man  is  a spiritual 
being.  She  forgot  that  unless  a nation  builds  on 
the  great  spiritual  verities  she  cannot  stand  in  the 
day  of  storm  and  stress. 


[26] 


A RELIGIOUS  RENAISSANCE 


Moreover,  during  these  fifty  years  many  of 
Japan’s  leaders  boasted  that  they  were  agnostics. 
They  boasted  that  they  were  building  in  the  Orient 
a great  secular  state  into  which  there  should  go 
nothing  but  the  genius  and  the  intellect  of  man. 
They  said  that  Japan  would  show  to  the  world  that 
a nation  can  become  a mighty  world  power  and  can 
accomplish  great  things  without  God  and  without 
religion. 

The  masses  of  the  people  still  clung  to  the  old 
pagan  faiths  but  in  most  cases  it  was  an  empty 
form  and  perfunctory.  It  was  a non-religious  age. 
Religion  was  relegated  into  the  background  both  in 
the  people’s  thinking  and  in  their  living.  They  were 
preoccupied  with  the  great  task  to  which  they  had 
set  their  hands. 

The  result  of  it  all  has  been  most  disastrous.  To- 
day there  is  such  breaking  down  of  character,  such 
bankruptcy  of  manhood,  such  sweeping  away  of 
moral  ideals,  such  undermining  of  ethical  standards, 
and  such  rampant  materialism  that  the  thoughtful 
men  and  women  have  been  shocked  into  a great 
awakening.  The  leaders  are  alarmed  at  what  they 
see,  and  are  appealing  to  religious  men  and  women 
to  help  stem  the  tide. 

Furthermore,  the  heart-life  of  the  nation  is  re- 
asserting itself.  The  divine  spark  that  was  snuffed 
out  has  again  burst  into  a flame.  The  Japanese  peo- 
ple have  again  taken  up  a heart-search  after  God. 
They  are  joining  in  the  age-long  cry  of  humanity : 

[27] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


“ My  heart  thirsteth  after  God,  for  the  living  God ; 
when  shall  I come  and  appear  before  God  ? ” 

The  Meiji  era  was  characterized  by  a turning 
away  from  religion  and  the  development  of  a non- 
religpous  materialistic  civilization.  This  present 
Taisho  era  promises  a return  of  the  people  to  re- 
ligion and  an  effort  to  put  the  religious  motive  and 
dynamic  at  the  heart  of  the  nation’s  development. 
The  pagan  faiths  are  feeling  this  return  of  the  peo- 
ple to  religious  thinking  and  religious  yearning. 
The  Buddhists,  in  order  to  meet  this  situation,  are 
aping  Christian  methods  and  imitating  Christian 
institutions.  They  have  organized  a Buddhist  Sal- 
vation Army,  a Buddhist  Sunday  School  Movement, 
a Buddhist  Young  Men’s  Association,  and  a Bud- 
dhist Women’s  Society.  Through  these  organiza- 
tions they  are  endeavoring  to  put  new  life  and  new 
meaning  into  a system  that  is  worn  out  and  hope- 
lessly beyond  repair. 

There  is  also  a very  marked  revival  of  Shintoism. 
The  Shintoists  are  taking  advantage  of  this  rising 
tide  and  are  making  a strenuous  effort  to  revive 
the  practise  of  emperor  worship.  In  the  fall  of  1920 
there  was  dedicated  in  Tokyo  a new  Shinto  shrine 
which  cost  ten  million  dollars  to  build.  Here  the 
spirit  of  the  late  Emperor  Meiji  is  to  be  worshiped. 
The  dedication  was  an  affair  of  national  significance 
and  was  carried  through  with  great  ceremony.  Dur- 
ing the  four  days  of  dedication  between  two  and 
three  million  people  made  pilgrimages  to  this  shrine 

[28] 


CHRISTIANITY'S  GOLDEN  HOUR 


and  bowed  in  worship  to  the  spirit  of  their  departed 
and  much-beloved  Emperor, 

For  half  a century  Japan’s  intellectuals  have  con- 
sidered religion  entirely  outside  of  their  realm.  The 
attitude  of  the  majority  toward  religion  was  that  of 
cynical  scorn  or  utter  indifference.  Today  religion 
bulks  large  in  the  thinking  of  many  of  them.  The 
Imperial  Universities  of  Tokyo  and  Kyoto  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  establish  a religious  monthly. 
This  is  an  open  forum  where  men  of  every  faith 
are  free  to  make  known  their  religious  thinking  and 
experiences  to  the  nation.  Some  institutions  of 
higher  learning  have  established  a “ Department  of 
Religion  ” where  extensive  courses  are  given  in  the 
study  of  religions. 

These  are  some  of  the  signs  of  Japan’s  religious 
awakening.  They  indicate  that  the  soul  of  Japan  is 
to  have  a new  day  and  that  the  spiritual  verities  are 
to  have  a new  valuation  in  the  life  of  that  nation. 

CHRISTIANITY’S  GOLDEN  HOUR 

Madam  Guyon,  the  eminent  French  mystic,  says 
in  one  of  her  writings  that  “ God  has  creative 
hours.”  Japan  stands  in  one  of  God’s  great  creative 
hours.  Again  he  is  giving  the  Christian  church  a 
golden  opportunity  to  put  Christ’s  program  across 
in  that  forward  -looking  nation. 

The  government  has  about-faced  in  its  attitude  to- 
ward Christianity.  For  many  years  its  attitude  was 

[29] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


that  of  suspicion  and  active  opposition.  Today  its 
attitude  is  that  of  friendly  cooperation.  The  Em- 
peror accompanied  his  gracious  words  of  welcome 
to  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Convention,  held  in 
Tokyo  in  1920,  with  a gift  of  $25,000  to  help  defray 
convention  expenses.  The  Emperor  and  Empress 
also  sent  their  personal  representative  to  extend  to 
the  delegates  of  the  convention  their  cordial  greet- 
ings. 

Premier  Kara,  in  discussing  Christianity’s  place  in 
the  nation,  said  to  me  with  great  frankness : 

There  is  absolute  religious  freedom  in  Japan.  Japan  is 
wide  open  to  Christianity.  There  is  not  a closed  door  any- 
where. Christian  workers  are  absolutely  free  to  press  their 
program. 

Frequently  the  Imperial  Household  Department, 
the  Central  Government,  the  State  governments,  and 
City  governments  give  unsolicited,  unconditioned 
free-will  contributions  to  Christian  institutions  in 
order  to  encourage  and  help  them  in  their  work. 

These  are  some  of  the  evidences  that  lay  bare  the 
Government’s  state  of  heart  toward  the  Christian 
movement  today.  The  fact  that  there  are  here  and 
there  underofficials  who  indulge  in  petty  persecu- 
tions, should  not  blind  us  to  the  great  central  policy 
of  those  in  authority  at  the  heart  of  things. 

The  religious  condition  of  the  young  men  and  the 
young  women  in  Japan  also  spells  opportunity  in 
capital  letters  for  Christianity.  They  are  standing 
in  an  hour  of  spiritual  crisis.  In  the  religious 

[30] 


CHRISTIANITTS  GOLDEN  HOUR 


renaissance  which  Japan  is  experiencing,  some  of  her 
leaders  and  those  who  cling  to  the  old  faiths  are 
harking  back  to  the  past.  They  are  trying  to  re- 
establish the  reviving  religious  life  of  the  people  on 
the  old  pagan  faiths. 

The  youth  of  the  land  have,  however,  by  the  multi- 
tude, broken  with  the  old  creeds  and  the  old  cults. 
They  are  not  looking  over  their  shoulders.  Their 
faces  are  toward  the  dawn  of  a new  day  in  their 
religious  experience.  They  tell  us,  by  the  thousands 
they  tell  us,  that  when  they  turn  to  Buddhism  and 
Shintoism  they  find  them  fountains  without  water, 
cisterns  that  are  dry,  systems  without  a life  and 
without  a dynamic.  And  there  they  stand  open- 
minded,  open-hearted,  and  conscious  of  a great 
famine  in  their  souls.  By  the  thousands  they  are 
groping  in  the  dark  for  the  light  which  they  know 
must  be  shining  somewhere.  They  also  feel  keenly 
the  need  of  new  ideals  and  a new  dynamic  in  order  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  nation’s  new  day. 

The  attitude  of  some  of  Japan’s  outstanding  lead- 
ers also  writes  opportunity  in  letters  of  light.  Every 
nation  is  led  by  its  leaders.  This  is  especially  true 
of  Japan.  And  the  hearts  of  some  of  its  leaders 
are  turning  Christward. 

A short  time  ago  the  president  of  the  large  Com- 
mercial College  in  Tokyo  asked  the  manager  of  the 
great  Mitsui  corporation  for  suggestions  as  to  how 
he  could  better  fit  the  students  under  his  care  for 
their  future  work.  This  corporation  is  the  largest 

[31] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TROTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


commercial  concern  not  only  in  Japan  but  in  all  the 
Orient.  It  has  a chain  of  banks  clear  across  the 
Empire  and  branches  in  every  port  city  in  the  world. 
It  has  large  mining  and  other  interests.  It  em- 
ploys between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  men  in 
its  different  activities.  The  manager  of  this  con- 
cern— one  of  Japan’s  leading  industrial  magnates — 
replied  to  the  college  president,  saying: 

I have  but  one  suggestion  to  make.  The  men  that  come 
to  us  from  your  institution  are  not  lacking  in  intellectual 
ability.  They  are  not  lacking  in  a knowledge  of  commer- 
cial affairs.  They  are  lacking  in  the  dynamic  that  makes 
manhood.  They  are  wanting  in  the  power  that  builds  char- 
acter. And  my  one  and  only  suggestion  to  you  is  that  you 
send  your  students  to  the  Christian  churches,  for  that  is  the 
only  place  that  I know  of  where  they  can  find  that  dynamic. 

Here  comes  this  keen  forward-looking  captain  of 
industry  and  out  of  his  large  experience  and  contact 
with  men  of  affairs  gives  it  as  his  conviction  that 
the  wonder-working  Qirist  and  his  dynamic  gospel 
is  Japan’s  only  hope. 

Japan’s  doors  are  open  to  the  Christ.  She  is  ready 
to  have  the  Christian  program  pushed  out  across  her 
Empire.  In  the  life  of  nations  such  opportunities 
come  but  once  in  a century. 

THE  NEED  OF  AN  ENLARGED 
CHRISTIAN  PROGRAM 

For  sixty  years  the  Christian  church  faced  in 
Japan  a great  field  for  evangelism.  Here  was  a 

[32] 


THE  NEED  OF  AN  ENLARGED  CHRISTIAN  PROGRAM 


nation  untouched  by  the  complexity  of  modem  life. 
Her  people  lived  the  simple  and  easy-going  life 
characteristic  of  the  Orient.  The  church’s  task  was 
correspondingly  simple.  The  broadcast  recital  of 
the  gospel  story  met  the  needs  of  the  situation. 

There  is  still  great  need  for  this  work.  Vast  sec- 
tions of  Japan’s  population  are  still  unevangelized. 
The  rural  districts  are  as  yet  practically  untouched. 
Eighty  per  cent,  of  her  people  are  yet  to  be  reached 
with  the  Christian  message.  All  along  the  far-flung 
line  of  Japan’s  unevangelized  masses  men  must  go 
who  have  a passion  for  the  gospel  and  proclaim  it 
to  men  and  women  who  are  hungry  in  their  hearts 
and  famished  in  their  souls.  Nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  the  dynamic  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
lives  of  this  nation’s  millions. 

But  life  in  Japan  is  no  longer  simple.  The  dreamy 
days  with  their  tranquil  life  are  gone.  A new  spirit 
has  possessed  the  land.  Industrialism,  with  its  in- 
troduction of  modern  machinery;  commercialism, 
with  its  rush  and  hurry;  the  growth  of  the  cities, 
with  their  teeming  throbbing  life,  have  created  a 
new  Japan. 

Japan’s  total  area  is  less  than  that  of  California. 
And  because  of  its  mountainous  character  only 
eighteen  per  cent,  can  be  cultivated.  Her  population 
is  pressing  the  60,000,000  mark.  Moreover  there  is 
an  annual  increase  of  about  700,000.  Here  is 
Japan’s  problem.  How  shall  she  secure  land  and  a 
sufficient  food-supply  for  her  large  and  ever-increas- 

[33] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


ing  population?  Unless  she  can  find  a solution  for 
this  problem  she  faces  suicidal  overcrowding  and 
starvation. 

The  closing  of  the  doors  to  Japanese  immigration 
in  Canada,  America,  and  Australia  raises  the  acute- 
ness of  this  problem  to  the  n**'  degree.  It  was  not 
from  choice  that  Japan  turned  her  face  toward  the 
Orient  and  determined  to  carve  out  her  future  in 
Asia.  The  Occidental  nations  forced  her  to  seek  a 
place  in  the  Asiatic  sun.  Having  confined  her  to 
Asia,  these  land-rich  nations  of  the  West  are  still 
not  satisfied.  With  jealous  eyes  they  watch  her. 
And  again  and  again  they  have  checkmated  her 
endeavors  to  solve  a problem  that  to  her  is  one  of 
life  and  death. 

The  upshot  of  it  all  is  that  Japan  has  determined 
to  become  an  industrial  nation.  Only  by  turning 
from  the  fields  to  the  factories  and  industrializing 
her  national  life  can  she  furnish  employment  for 
her  increasing  population  and  feed  it.  She  has 
decided  that  her  only  salvation  as  a nation  is  to  fol- 
low England’s  lead,  import  the  raw  material,  trans- 
form it  in  her  mills  and  factories,  and  go  into  the 
world’s  markets  with  the  finished  product. 

The  result  is  that  a great  industrial  wave  has 
swept  across  the  Empire.  Her  two  hundred  factories 
of  three  decades  ago  have  jumped  to  twenty-five 
thousand.  The  fifteen  thousand  factory  employees 
of  that  time  have  increased  to  over  two  million. 
In  such  cities  as  Tokyo,  Yokohama,  Osaka,  and 

[34] 


THE  NEED  OF  AN  ENLARGED  CHRISTIAN  PROGRAM 


Kobe  the  number  of  factories  has  doubled  in  the 
last  seven  years.  On  the  twenty-mile  stretch  along 
Tokyo  Bay  between  Tokyo  and  Yokohama  two  thou- 
sand new  factories  were  built  in  1919.  The  same 
thing  took  place  on  the  shore-line  of  Osaka  Bay 
between  Osaka  and  Kobe.  Here  are  developing 
two  of  the  greatest  industrial  centers  in  the  Orient, 
manufacturing  centers  that  in  the  coming  days  will 
rank  with  New  York  City  and  Birmingham,  Eng^ 
land. 

The  tragic  thing  about  this  situation  is  that  Japan 
has  made  this  remarkable  industrial  growth  through 
the  toil  and  tears  of  her  women  and  children.  Of 
her  two  million  factory  workers  one  million  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  belong  to  the  weaker 
sex.  Of  these,  three  hundred  thousand  are  girls 
under  twenty  years  of  age.  Their  working  hours 
are  long.  Their  living  conditions  are  hard.  The 
resulting  loss  from  sickness  and  other  causes  is  so 
great  that  for  the  spinning-mills  alone  two  hundred 
thousand  fresh  girls  are  recruited  every  year  from 
the  country  districts. 

Industry  and  commerce  go  hand  in  hand.  Seventy 
years  ago  Japan  had  no  commercial  contacts  with 
the  outside  world.  In  1920  her  imports  shot  across 
the  billion  dollar  mark,  and  her  exports  just  missed 
touching  that  high  point.  The  World  War  gave 
Japan  such  a commercial  opportunity  as  does  not 
come  to  a nation  in  a hundred  years.  The  markets 
of  the  world  were  open  to  her.  Competition  was 

[35] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


absent.  She  received  her  own  price  for  every  thing 
that  she  offered.  Not  only  so,  but  from  all  corners 
of  the  globe  men  came  by  the  hundreds  and  begged 
her  to  accept  orders  and  at  her  own  figures.  For 
some  of  her  captains  of  industry  the  temptation  was 
too  great.  They  flooded  the  marts  of  the  nations 
with  inferior  goods.  They  thus  dragged  Japan’s 
commercial  reputation  into  the  dust  and  caused  her 
to  lose  an  opportunity  to  capture  a large  share  of  the 
world’s  trade.  The  result  is  that  she  has  not  been 
able  to  hold  what  she  gained.  However,  she  got  the 
taste  and  the  experience,  and  these  are  going  to 
prove  an  incalculable  asset  for  the  future. 

One  of  the  outstanding  features  of  this  develop- 
ment is  that  it  has  forced  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  of  Japan’s  daughters  out  of  their  age-long 
sheltered  home  life  into  the  turbulent  exposed  life 
of  modem  commercialism.  In  stores,  shops,  and 
offices  of  all  kinds,  they  are  facing  problems  and 
temptations  for  which  they  are  physically,  mentally, 
and  spiritually  unprepared. 

Another  feature  of  this  new  Japan  is  the  phe- 
nomenal growth  of  her  cities.  The  population  of 
Tokyo  has  jumped  from  858,000  to  over  2,500,000 
in  thirty  years.  Osaka’s  population  has  increased 
a round  million  during  this  same  period.  Other 
cities  have  had  a growth  that  parallels  this.  Both 
of  these  cities  have  suburbs  that  have  grown  from 
5,000  to  30,000  people  in  the  last  twelve  years. 
This  growth  is  almost  entirely  industrial  in  its  char- 

[361 


THE  NEED  OF  AN  ENLARGED  CHRISTIAN  PROGRAM 


acter.  They  are  the  centers  where  the  working  folk 
congregate. 

With  the  growth  of  the  cities  and  the  springing 
up  of  industrial  centers  have  come  the  inevitable 
problems  of  housing,  congestion,  sanitation,  infan- 
tile mortality,  loose  morals,  the  increase  of  crime, 
the  conflict  between  capital  and  labor,  and  all  the 
problems  that  haunt  the  modern  city.  The  slum, 
that  cancerous  growth  of  twentieth  century  city  life, 
has  also  made  its  appearance  in  this  fair  land. 

Here  is  the  new  situation  which  the  Christian 
Movement  is  facing  in  Japan  today.  These  mush- 
room cities  must  be  evangelized,  for  as  go  the  cities, 
so  goes  the  nation.  The  industrial  classes  must  be 
reached.  Those  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  cruel 
competitive  commercialism  must  be  safeguarded. 
The  church  must  minister  to  those  who  are  crowded 
into  congested  districts  and  who  live  in  the  slough 
of  the  slums.  To  all  men,  women,  and  children 
everywhere  she  must  give  fuller  and  freer  and  finer 
life. 

Only  a Christianity  with  an  evangelistic  fervor 
and  a social  passion  can  meet  the  present  needs. 
The  simple  program  of  the  earlier  days  must  be 
broadened  and  enlarged  so  that  the  church  may 
function  efficiently  and  with  saving  healing  power 
amidst  the  complexity  of  Japan’s  modern  life. 
Preaching  there  must  be,  and  by  men  whose  hearts 
are  aflame  and  whose  souls  are  aglow.  But  the 
gospel  must  be  given  hands  and  feet  and  incarnated 

[37] 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 


in  lives  of  lowly  ministry  that  the  common  people 
and  those  who  toil  may  understand.  The  individual 
is  the  unit,  and  the  church  will  get  nowhere  until  it 
seeks  and  saves  him,  but  it  must  also  take  homes 
and  institutions  and  communities  into  its  heart  and 
strive  for  their  salvation  if  it  is  going  to  do  effective 
kingdom  building  in  the  Japan  of  today. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

The  Christian  community  in  Japan  is  not  large. 
It  comprises  only  200,000  communicants  out  of  a 
population  of  almost  60,000,000.  It  has,  however,  a 
strength  and  influence  far  beyond  its  numbers.  It 
and  the  Christ  and  the  gospel  are  the  dynamic  at  the 
heart  of  the  nation  that  is  lifting  it  upward  and 
Godward.  They  are  raising  the  home  and  giving 
Japan’s  women  a new  status.  They  are  giving  the 
nation  new  ideals  and  new  standards  and  recon- 
structing her  whole  social  order. 

The  sweep  and  strength  of  any  movement  can  best 
be  judged  by  the  kind  of  men  and  women  that  make 
up  its  leadership  and  line  up  behind  it.  It  is  only 
sixty  years  since  the  Christian  movement  was 
launched  in  this  Empire.  Yet  both  in  the  pulpit 
and  in  the  pew  there  are  those  who  in  culture,  in 
character,  and  in  faith  are  the  peers  of  their  fellow 
Christians  in  the  West. 

There  are  such  Christian  statesmen  as  Mr.  Ebara, 
Member  of  the  House  of  Peers,  and  Mr,  Shimada, 

[38] 


THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 


Member  of  Parliament  and  an  ex-Speaker  of  that 
body.  There  are  such  Christian  officials  as  Baron 
Nakamura,  until  recently  Minister  of  the  Imperial 
Household  Department,  and  Mr.  Nagao,  one  of  the 
heads  of  the  Imperial  Railroad  System.  Judge 
Watanabe,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Korea,  is  an  out-and-out  Christian.  Admiral  Uriyu 
is  a Christian  warrior. 

In  the  educational  world  there  are  such  Christian 
educators  as  Doctor  Nitobe,  for  many  years  presi- 
dent of  the  Government’s  Junior  College  in  Tokyo, 
President  Sato  of  the  Northern  Imperial  University, 
Professor  Yoshino  of  the  Imperial  University  and 
the  leader  of  the  democratic  movement,  and  a host 
of  others  standing  high  in  their  profession. 

There  are  Christian  reformers  like  Mr.  Nemoto, 
Member  of  Parliament;  Mr.  Ando,  who  heads  up 
the  Temperance  Movement;  and  Mr.  Aoki,  one  of 
Osaka’s  leading  business  men. 

There  are  Christian  editors,  Christian  business 
men,  and  Christian  men  in  law  and  medicine,  not  a 
few,  who  are  leaders  in  their  respective  spheres. 

There  are  such  princes  of  preachers  as  Doctor 
Ebina,  often  called  the  silver-tongued ; Pastor  Miya- 
gawa,  the  Beecher  of  Japan;  Pastor  Uemura,  the 
Russell  Conwell  of  Japan ; Pastor  Kozaki,  and  other 
men  of  power  in  the  pulpit.  There  are  such  Chris- 
tian evangels  as  Mr.  Kimura,  the  Moody  of  Japan; 
Mr.  Kanamori,  her  Billy  Sunday;  Colonel  Yama- 
muro,  the  General  Booth  of  Japan,  and  others,  who 

[391 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  JAPAN 

as  evangelists  are  blazing  the  paths  of  glory  for  Jesus 
Christ  up  and  down  the  land.  There  is  Mr.  Uchi- 
mura,  the  Christian  mystic  and  interpreter  of  the 
Word,  whose  magazine,  “ Bible  Study,”  goes  into 
every  comer  of  the  Empire. 

All  of  these  and  many  others  who  might  be  men- 
tioned are  not  only  great  leaders  in  the  onward 
march  of  the  Christian  church  but  also  conspicuous 
national  figures.  It  is  this  aggressive  forward-mov- 
ing Christian  community  with  its  fine  indigenous 
leaders  that  writes  hope  in  bold  letters  across  Japan’s 
future. 

THE  CHALLENGE 

Japan  presents  to  the  Christian  church  a clarion- 
like challenge.  There  she  stands  at  the  crossroads 
of  the  nations.  For  weal  or  for  woe  her  molding 
hand  is  stretched  across  the  Orient.  Christianize 
her  impact,  and  a deep  wide  wedge  for  Christ  will 
be  driven  into  the  life  of  the  entire  East.  A Christ- 
less  Japan,  however,  will  go  far  toward  creating  a 
Christless  Asia. 

On  the  church’s  answer  to  this  ringing  challenge 
hangs  not  only  Japan’s  future  but  the  Orient’s  future 
and  the  whole  big  world’s  future.  God  help  the 
followers  of  Christ  in  this  great  hour  to  pitch  their 
lives  to  the  heroic  note  and  with  a great  purpose 
and  a mighty  passion  to  throw  themselves  into  the 
task  of  swinging  Japan  on  to  the  side  of  the  con- 
quering Christ. 


[40] 


DATE  DUE 

fCT  8 ’68 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

